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Well now that I am done with Kamigawa Block, it’s back to Standard or “The New Standard” post 9th edition. Looking at Kamigawa there will definitely be some new decks entering the Standard environment as the old ones lose too many cards from Mirrodin. I personally am going to miss Mirrodin block. I don’t care how broken Affinity was or how ridiculously resilient Tooth and Nail

, looking back at it now Wizards really put together a wonderful set proving me wrong as I was originally skeptical of an all artifact block. However, I also look forward to its rotation as Ravnica will take its spot, and 9th Edition will definitely make some noise with all the goodies its provides.

But enough of that, you want to read about Suicide Black. For all the skeptics out there I will acknowledge that Dark Ritual

have not been replaced. However with the new beaters Kamigawa block has offered, Suicide Black is back and is not to be taken lightly! Now of course Ravnica has not been released yet and we can only imagine what Mark Rosewater has been up to so I cannot offer a “complete” decklist but rather a solid “core” for what should be a wrecking ball next year. I would also like to mention that this deck is completely devoid of Mirrodin cards and is not designed to taken on the Tier 1 decks of the current standard.

and Yukora, The Prisoner. The deck is played as such that it should win before the drawbacks really take a toll on the player. After all, will the 3 damage from a Raving Oni-Slave really matter if you end the game at 10 life? The same philosophy applies to cards in hand. Yukora and Sicken

aW5nIFNob2Fs have different ways of letting your opponent gain card advantage. However what good are 5 maybe 6 cards in your hand if you don’t have the time to play them. Remember that time is not your ally; play to win now as the deck has a harder time winning when your opponent has time to establish a defense

: This land wins games all by itself; more often than not it’s advantageous to have 2 of these Legendary Lands as its power warrants it. As long as you have an Ogre in play it is simply superior to a Swamp

s: In total you have 22 lands, which is the right amount as the deck curves out at 4 relying mostly on 2 and 3 drops. Anytime you get 5 lands in your starting 7 ship it back for 6 as you need to continually apply steady pressure on your opponents’ defenses.

: The late game is not your strong suit as you empty your and very quickly the cards you draw from this land will almost always be more advantageous to you than your opponent.

4x Raving Oni-Slave: This card is a wrecking ball in the early game. Where the best your opponent can muster is a 2/2 on turn 2 Raving Oni-Slave causes all kinds of problems for your opponent as he forces 3 damage a turn through or makes your opponent chump block. Not only does he do that but he also carries the Ogre Creature type, which I will discuss later.

: A 3/1 for 3 mana may not seem impressive at first, especially in a suicide black deck. However his evasion ability is awesome if your opponent is low on creatures. Most times he gets across for three damage even if there is an opposing creature.

in the deck. He provides a huge 5/5 body and his drawback is easily avoided due to all the ogres in your deck. His demon creature type also makes your ogres drawbacks non-existent allowing your Bleeders to attack and block without fear of repercussion.

: Although its no Diabolic or Chainer’s Edict, this Portal uncommon is still a very effective removal spell in it’s own right as it can kill untargetable creatures, protection creatures, the indestructible Darksteel Colossus

aW5nIFNob2Fs: Tempo, tempo, and tempo! That’s what Suicide Black decks have always been about and that’s what this card gives you. For 0 mana simply removal a card you don’t need now and take down whatever is in your way at instant speed. Later on it can be easily hard cast and still be effective. This card also works wonders when you have a spare Yukora that you can’t play because of the Legend Rule.Sideboarding:

When Mirrodin rotates out one can only speculate as to what decks will emerge to the top Tier. Right now as I look at Kamigawa Block Gifts Ungiven

or Meloku, The Clouded Mirror, they will all give you trouble if they get cast early. These matchups are a race against the clock for your opponent. Your best chance is for an early assault with Hypnotic Specter

As always thank you for reading. Next week my writing will be shifting to a more casual subject as I have a couple of casual deck ideas inspired by a good friend of mine, David Lemos. I also look forward to a couple of out-of-the-box writing subjects of my own. Keep an eye out for them.

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